TORONTO, May 23, 2024
/CNW/ - Centennial College faculty and staff have been recognized
with a Minister's Award of Excellence for their work delivering an
Early Childhood Education (ECE) program expressly for Black,
African and Caribbean
students.
The Minister of Colleges and Universities, Jill Dunlop, bestows the awards to faculty,
staff and graduate students who have shown exceptional performance
at institutions like publicly assisted colleges. Professor
Dwayne Locke, lead for the Early
Childhood Education – Tropicana program, Professor Jenny Quianzon and the ECE faculty, along with
Student Success Advisor Audrey Le,
have been honoured in the Equality of Opportunity category.
The category acknowledges efforts to open doors in postsecondary
education for marginalized and underrepresented groups. As a team,
Locke, Quianzon, Le and their ECE faculty colleagues were among 15
award recipients across five categories selected from a pool of
more than 480 nominations.
"The Early Childhood Education program for Black learners
reimagines the ECE curriculum to celebrate cultural identity and
incorporate perspectives from the African Diaspora while removing
barriers such as financial constraints. The program aims to boost
workforce representation of Black ECE professionals in GTA child
care centres," said Véronique Henry, Dean, School of Community and
Health Studies, Centennial College, who envisioned the program.
"The Minister's Award recognizing the people who helped create this
opportunity reflects the unwavering commitment and passion of
Professor and Program Coordinator, Dwayne
Locke, along with Audrey Le,
Jenny Quianzon, the entire ECE team
at Centennial College, and our esteemed partners who provide
comprehensive support and expert consultation."
Developed in collaboration by Centennial College, Saccae
Cultural Equity Consultants, and Tropicana Community Services,
the Early Childhood Education – Tropicana program is delivered in
partnership by Centennial and Tropicana. The City of Toronto, the Province of Ontario and Government of Canada provide the program with funding
support through the new Canada-Ontario Early Childhood Workforce
Agreement, which is designed to bolster the child care and early
years workforce.
"Centennial's dedicated faculty and staff have been instrumental
in creating an inclusive and culturally affirming learning
environment that has allowed Black, African and Caribbean students in the Early Childhood
Education - Tropicana program to thrive," said Jennifer Lafreniere, Associate Dean, School of
Community and Health Studies, Centennial College. "We celebrate
their achievement and thank them for their important work ensuring
students are well-supported in their community through Tropicana
─ from infusing the program with Black perspectives to
planning future learning opportunities in Jamaica ─ and we are grateful to our
community and government partners whose support has made this
possible."
The Early Childhood Education - Tropicana program helps break
down barriers by giving students access to community and cultural
supports as well as technology and tuition-free learning.
"We take such joy and pride in delivering Early Childhood
Education programming that centres Black, African and Caribbean culture, lived experiences and
needs, and so it's a delight to share the honour of this
recognition with my colleagues," said Locke. "I am impressed and
inspired by our talented students, who are determined to graduate
ready to go out into the community and provide high-quality child
care despite any barriers they may face."
The first cohort of students to start the program in fall 2023
are already proving this, with 19 of 25 continuing on to their
final year. There is strong community interest in the program, with
a second cohort of 25 students slated to start the program in the
fall 2024.
Learn more about the Early Childhood Education – Tropicana
program.
About Centennial College
Centennial College, founded
in 1966, is Ontario's first public
college. Anchored primarily in the eastern part of the Greater Toronto Area, the college boasts five
campuses and two satellite locations. Renowned for its outstanding
teaching, creative curriculum, and robust network of partnerships,
Centennial annually welcomes over 40,000 full-time and part-time
students from over 130 countries. These students pursue their
education in over 400 diploma, certificate, and degree programs
across various fields, including business, media, arts, community
and consumer services, engineering technology, health care, and
transportation.
SOURCE Centennial College